the Nation of Islam

The Nation, family and friends remember the life and contribution of Louis Farrakhan, Jr.

CHICAGO—Light shone through the domed ceiling of Mosque Maryam and what had been a rainy and overcast day became bright. The sunshine and its energy reflected the spirit buzzing in the sanctuary at the homegoing service of Louis E. Farrakhan, Jr., the eldest son of the internationally known Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan and his wife Khadijah Farrakhan.

The sanctuary was filled with family, Muslims, well-wishers and old friends to celebrate and remember a man known for his brotherhood, brilliance and humor.

While there was certainly sadness and a few tears shed, there was no grief as the Muslim funeral service and fond memories kept a great loss balanced with gratitude for a great life sent this way.

After the service opened with a Quranic recitation, Student Minister Jeffrey Muhammad explained the Muslim funeral service and its practical and beautiful nature.

There are no flowers because flowers should be given to the living and money spent on flowers can be given to surviving family, he said. Likewise, there is no music and no long litany of speakers, which may touch the family and heighten their loss, added Jeffrey Muhammad.

It was a reunion of sorts for Muslims with attendees including pioneering former National Secretary of the Nation of Islam John Ali; Munir Muhammad of the Coalition for the Remembrance of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad; Ameer Muhammad, Alif Muhammad, Saffiya Muhammad, Rabb Muhammad, Maraud Muhammad and Hafeezah Muhammad, grandchildren of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad; Shirley Muhammad, the wife of the late Imam W.D. Mohammed and her daughters Laila and Ngina; Imam Muhammad Siddeeq, Imam Abdul Malik, Sheikh Ahmed Rufai and Believers from different Islamic communities. The mosque was also so full that it was not able to accommodate all who wanted to attend the funeral.

Resolutions from the Rev. James Bass and Mayor Eric Kellogg of Harvey, Ill., were acknowledged. Outside among flowers was a huge arrangement from tv personality and onetime Michigan judge Greg Mathis. Attendees came from across the country and condolences for the Farrakhan family came in from different parts of the world.

Ishmael Muhammad, a son of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad and assistant minister at Mosque Maryam, offered words to comfort the audience, which included the Minister, his wife and family.

He offered prayers for the family that Allah (God) would lift any burden or sorrow, but every soul has a fixed time to depart this life and only leaves with Allah’s permission, he added.

The Holy Qur’an says Allah takes men’s souls at night and those on whom the decree of death has not passed arise the next day, said Ishmael Muhammad.

We don’t know when we will leave this world but life is short so what are we doing with the time God gives us? he asked. We were expecting Louis to live, but Allah knew what would happen, so we should be good to one another in our daily lives, avoiding grief and sorrow when the one we love passes, he said.

It appears Brother Louis was sleep, and Allah took him in his sleep in the family home; this represents Allah’s mercy, said Ishmael Muhammad. Brother Louis didn’t die in gun violence or a plane crash but in his sleep in the blessed month of Ramadan, where Prophet Muhammad said the gates of heaven are wide open in this month, said Student Minister Muhammad.

This is a blessed, highly favored family and Brother Louis’ children should be grateful for the time Allah gave us with their father, he continued. A blessed life doesn’t mean no illness, or pain but it means Allah allows you to praise and glorify him and rise above any condition in life, said Ishmael Muhammad.

We will miss Brother Louis who made an indelible impression on us and there will never be another like him, he said as the audience exploded into applause.

He was unique, gifted and “boy was he funny,” said Ishmael Muhammad. He was also gracious, kind and would not want us to be sad, he said.

Ishmael Muhammad recounted a story from Mustapha Farrakhan about his older brother who was in the hospital after having a heart attack. How does it feel? asked Mustapha Farrakhan. It was like Allah sent a new angel and a fat one that sat on my chest said Brother Louis, as Ishmael Muhammad recounted the story. The audience again erupted into laughter and applause. It was classic humor from Brother Louis, easily recognized by those who knew him.

❗️Still SHOWERING THE QUEENS OF KING’S ROW❗️The queens are still on high after Saturday’s Community Baby Shower hosted by the MGT&GCC of The Nation of Islam and the 10,000 Fearless Movement.

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive!!! The MGT had several extra items left over so while going door-to-door today at King’s Row Apartments, we gifted more mothers and others who had relatives in need!!

Even Ms. Nesly (above picture), who is the apartment manager, got some items for her newborn nephew. She has expressed so much appreciation for the Nation of Islam’s impact on the area. All Praise is Due to Allah! The work continues. #queen #Houston #NationofIslam #Farrakhan

The Final Call Chronicles: Still Showering the Queens of Kings Row was last modified: August 18th, 2017 by BJ Blog Staff

New Orleans – Student Minister Willie Muhammad of the Nation of Islam in New Orleans, along with brothers of Muhammad Mosque No. 46, recently visited the Travis Hill Facility, a new school that opened in August 2016 inside of the Youth Study Center (YSC), that serves as the juvenile detention center for Orleans Parish. YSC provides pre-trial detention to youths between the ages of 14-17 who are charged with committing a delinquent offense that ranges from armed robbery to murder.

The school was named after recently deceased New Orleans native and musician, Travis “Trumpet Black” Hill, who used music to turn his life around after serving 9 years in prison for armed robbery. The first-time Student Min. Willie Muhammad visited the school was during a speaking engagement that was arranged for Student Min. Nuri Muhammad of Indianapolis, during his visit to the city of New Orleans. Brother Nuri spoke to the youth about not allowing the cell they resided in to become a tomb for them, but for it to be a womb for growth and new beginnings. Many questions followed Student Min. Nuri’s talk, including questions about the Holy Quran, Malcolm X, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, and the Nation of Islam. As a result of the inquiries, Student Min. Willie vowed to get each of them a copy of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s book, “Message to the Black Man”, and the Honorable Min. Louis Farrakhan’s “Twitter 2.0” book that contains questions from his twitter followers and his answers to those questions.

Student Min. Willie created an on-line social media campaign to request donations so that the books could be purchased. The request was met with great support. By the time Student Min. Willie returned to the facility to talk to the young men, the donations had doubled which allowed them to give out more books to the youth housed at the facility. The young men were excited that members of Muhammad Mosque #46 returned with the promised books.

Student Min. Willie spoke to them about the value of gaining knowledge of themselves. “I related the ‘cells’ they are housed in to the cell as being the building block of life,” he added. “A cell is also how the life of a human being begins. I told them that they must use this period of confinement to grow just as the cell while in the mother’s womb grows and develops as well. We spoke to them about using this period of confinement to undergo a new birth so that they leave the facility when their time is up as a new person.”

Student Min. Willie emphasized that in order for them to experience this new growth, they needed an essential component to spark and nurture their growth; that essential ingredient is knowledge of self. “I told them that the knowledge contained in that book (Message to the Black Man) transformed Malcolm X, who had become known as ‘Satan’ in prison,” he told the audience of attentive youth. “It was the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad that transformed the man nicknamed ‘Satan’ to be an instrument of salvation for thousands. I told them the same can happen for them if they start to delve into the transformative knowledge found in those books,” Student Min. Willie added.

Cairo Kwame, local community activist, also visited YSC and witnessed the excitement the young men exhibited when the brothers of the Nation of Islam walked through the door. “I have not seen any other group or organization that gets that type of response. I believe that the medicine the Nation of Islam has is the best for our people at this time,” he noted. “These young men are so attentive because a lot of them have hit rock bottom. Look at our juvenile justice system where some of these young men are facing 99 years for crimes where no one died.

The young brothers were excited about the books and some started reading them as soon as they got them. They asked that the brothers of Muhammad Mosque No. 46 come back to see them.

Message to the Black Man brings hope to Rock Bottom Teens was last modified: March 15th, 2017 by BJ Blog Staff

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad wrote, “Of all of our studies, history is most guaranteed to reward our research.” History examines the patterns of human behavior and relationships, providing its student with a striking understanding of context. A cursory examination of Black history indicates that every great leader we have produced has been met with a litany of obstacles and controversies that impacts their ability to work on behalf of the people. Many of those whom we presently honor did not receive such honors while they were alive. Why?

With more than 60 years of dedication and unwavering commitment to the liberation of All Black People, Minister Farrakhan stands as one of our most consistent and successful leaders. Although he has received praise from global leaders such as Fidel Castro, Kwame Toure, former Ghanaian President Jerry John Rawlings, and Yasser Arafat, Minister Farrakhan remains the central, most controversial figure in Black America. The hatred that is summoned at the sound of his name is rooted not in treacherous action, but the following myths that disguise the underlying truth that exposes them.

Malcolm X

Some oppose Minister Farrakhan on the assumption that he, and the Nation of Islam are responsible for the assassination of Minister Malcolm X. However, in a January 22, 1969 memo, the FBI actually take credit for the assassination of Malcolm X through the Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO). COINTELPRO is the same program responsible for the death of Fred Hampton, Mark Clark, and countless other Black Leaders. Malcolm’s secretary, Ms. Sarah Mitchell stated the following in regards to the night before his assassination:

“He said now anyone could kill him and everyone would blame the Muslims … He said, ‘We’ve been set up, and they succeeded.’ Malcolm X planned to recant his criticism of Muhammad at the Harlem rally that afternoon, Mitchell said, but he was gunned down before he could do so. She disputes a widely held belief that angry Muslims were behind the assassination.”

Homophobia & Transantagonism

Although I acknowledge that the spiritual views of Minister Farrakhan & the NOI in regards to Queer & Transgender identities is rooted in Islamic beliefs that conflict, I believe that we can work toward Operational Unity with love at the root. On March 25, 2011, Min. Farrakhan stated, “I love my people who are lesbian, homosexual, transgender. Don’t make no difference, I love you.” The words are very clear and are supported by his actions. Not once, has the NOI or any NOI member committed physical violence upon our Black LGBT family; and we welcome opportunities to build and heal any unintended pain in unity. Furthermore, the love of all Black people is not a transaction; or a consequence of Queer & Trans contributions to our struggle; rather a deeply spiritual and pure love of all Black people.

Gwendolyn Rodgers, a National Black Justice Coalition Emerging Leader (a Black LGBT Advocacy organization) examines this unfortunate reality in this beautifully written article. Gwendolyn asks us to reevaluate our perceived differences and consider, “Can we not operate in our silos for a common cause of liberation? Or do we not want to be truly free?” Is it possible to create unity without uniformity? To listen through disagreement?

Misogyny, Misogynoir, and Black Women

What has been most interesting around the charges of misogyny, misogynoir, and sexism within the Nation of Islam has been the complete absence of the voices of NOI women on the subject. Kathleen Currin interviewed such women and found that “all the women interviewed expressed over and over again that they loved their experiences in the Nation of Islam, precisely because it taught them that they could accomplish what they wanted.” Professor Ula Taylor of UC Berkeley offers that “many women joined the ranks of the Nation of Islam because of the “problematic dynamics within the Black power movement.” In fact, every NOI Mosque is constitutionally mandated to have women in leadership, up to and including Mother Clara Muhammad’s active leadership of the NOI from 1942 to 1947. Similarly, a survey conducted by Dr. Bayinnah Jefferies found that 89% of respondents (both male and female) agreed that “women were always highly respected within the community” and “had comparable roles to men” in the NOI.

Minister Farrakhan’s prolific support of Black Women and girls for six decades has been unprecedented. Phrases like “The Black Woman is God,” or “A Nation can rise no higher than its Woman,” find their roots in NOI theology and Minister Farrakhan’s spiritual exegesis. In 1998, Minister Farrakhan made Dr. Ava Muhammad the first woman to lead a Mosque (Atlanta, GA) in the world. Today, Dr. Ava is his National Spokesperson, a role comparable to the one Malcolm X’s once held. Dr. Ava is a just one example of the type of empowerment, renewal, and upliftment that Black Women across the country experience from their relationship with Islam. Similarly, the Million Man March and Justice or Else gatherings featured legendary Black women, including Maya Angelou and Dorothy Heights.

Anti-Semitic

Since the 1980’s, Minister Farrakhan has weathered the storm of being consistently and repeatedly called anti-Semitic. The accusation has been so intense that it has lead to Zionist protest with slurs such as “Who do we Want? Farrakhan! How do we want him? Dead!” The accusations have been so misleading that the white-led Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the NOI and Minister Farrakhan in the same grouping as the Ku Klux Klan, although the NOI has never been known to purvey violence. The KKK has a long record of murder and terrorism; the NOI has none. The truth of the matter is that the charge of anti-semitism has been used historically and presently to condemn those critical of Israel. Consider this August 14, 2002 interview between NPR’s Amy Goodman and former Israeli Minister of Education Shulamit Aloni:

Goodman: Often there is dissent expressed in the United States against policies of the Israeli government, people here are called “anti-semitic.” What is your response to that as an Israeli Jew?

Aloni: Well, it’s a trick. We always use it.

Anti-semitism is vastly different from a political critique of Israeli imperialism.

Is Farrakhan still relevant?

Some may suggest that Minister Farrakhan no longer carries relevance, except the controversy that seems to follow him. Min. Farrakhan is responsible for hosting the four largest gatherings in Black History, most recently Justice or Else in October 2015, each averaging at least one million Black people. No other leader has been able to maintain such a strong appeal, especially in spite of a complete media absence in coverage before, during, or after the march. Or consider that under his leadership, the Nation of Islam maintains bases in more than 120 cities across America, and more globally. Countless artists, entertainers, politicians, and other renowned Black folks have embraced Minister Farrakhan publicly; and the Nation’s impact on Black social and political realities has remained consistent. Lastly, the Nation of Islam under Minister Farrakhan’s leadership is one of the only remaining strong, independent, Black Organizations we have.

The harsh reality is that too often our perception of Black leaders is shaped and influenced by white popular media, long standing assumptions, and a sheer lack of knowledge. The notion that he is no longer relevant is as unfounded as it is absurd. The reality is that corporate (read: white) sponsored media has intentionally excluded anything related to Min. Farrakhan, creating the false appearance that Minister Farrakhan is no longer relevant. How does Justice or Else happen and without one corporate (read: white) media entity covering it? The media’s opinion of the Minister can be found in a March 1999 New York Post–America’s 7th largest newspaper–cartoon depicting Minister Farrakhan’s decapitation.

One may not agree with every single thing that Minister Farrakhan says, but certainly 60 years of sacrifice for Black people deserves respect. To his example, we owe gratitude. I conclude with a remarkable reminder from Sister Assata Shakur: “The first thing the enemy tries to do is isolate revolutionaries from the masses of people, making us horrible and hideous monsters so that our people will hate us.”

(Source: FinalCall.com) Minnesota congressman Keith Ellison is seeking to lead the Democratic National Committee as the party seeks someone to bring Democrats into the political Promised Land. There is nothing wrong with Rep. Ellison’s desire to move his party forward or his desire to help make America progress.

But he must be condemned and lambasted for trying to make his political bones by smearing the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. The Minnesota congressman has been attacked for a connection with the Nation of Islam years ago, while in college and for support of the Million Man March.

The Anti-Defamation League and others have branded Rep. Ellison as unfit for office, saying he is tainted by the anti-Semitism of Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Given that neither the Minister nor the Nation are anti-Semitic, a man with principles and courage would have stood up on the truth, the track record and the history of the Minister and his followers. Over the past 40 years, the Nation and the Minister have not harmed nor prohibited any Jewish person from exercising their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It was not Muslims who chanted in the 1980s, “Who do you want? Farrakhan! How do you want him? Dead!” as the Jewish Defense Organization did. It was not the Nation of Islam nor the Minister who were involved in a 1990s alleged death plot featuring Jewish federal stooge Michael Fitzpatrick. Mr. Fitzpatrick seized on the pain and vulnerability of Quibilah Shabazz, a daughter of Malcolm X, and federal authorities charged her with planning the murder of the Minister. It was the Minister whose blast of truth shook the feds as he declared the FBI has never been his friend. The Minister declared he wanted nothing to happen to Malcolm X widow Dr. Betty Shabazz, or her daughters and pulled the covers off of an old enemy, while seeking reconciliation. His stand was so incredible the feds essentially dropped the charges against Qubilah Shabazz and a rapprochement between the Nation and Dr. Shabazz started. She was featured as one of the speakers of the 1995 Million Man March. The prosecutors in this fiasco, by the way, were located in Rep. Ellison’s home state of Minnesota.

Mr. Ellison, who was captured in at least one photo distributing The Final Call while in college, condemned the Minister as he sought his new place. But his cowardly and baseless repudiation is nothing new. While running for Congress a decade ago, his “I’m not with Farrakhan and he’s a hater” narrative started.

But let’s go back and examine words published in the Nov. 6, 1995 edition of Insight News, a Black weekly in Minneapolis: “Third, Minister Farrakhan is a role model for Black youth; however he is not an anti-Semite. He is a sincere, tireless and uncompromising advocate of the Black community and other oppressed peoples in America and around the world. Despite some of the most relentless negative propaganda anyone has ever faced, most Black people regard him as a role model for youth and increasingly, a central voice for our collective aspirations.

“I am sensitive to members of the Jewish community who have been lead to believe that Minister Farrakhan is anti-Jewish. I believe they should do two things: engage in a dialogue with Black people who support Minister Farrakhan (which includes Cornel West, Jesse Jackson, Ben Chavis, Dorothy Height and many others) and urge their leadership to engage in the dialogue proposed at the Million Man March.

“The White community, however, must come to the realization that there are too many Black people who have been cleaned-up, taught and uplifted by Minister Farrakhan for us to let anyone gratuitously insult him anymore.”

That’s pretty powerful language and a powerful argument penned by one Keith X Ellison. Yes. That’s the same Rep. Keith Ellison who represents the Fifth Congressional District in Minnesota and seeks to chair the Democratic National Committee. He was also once known as Keith Ellison-Muhammad.

If Mr. Ellison once believed those things about the Minister and changed his mind, that’s his business. We will leave Allah (God) to judge and handle the hypocrites. But what cannot be tolerated are the lies, the slander and false narrative against Min. Farrakhan. These lies cannot be proven, nor can these false charges be sustained. The Minister has been a strong voice for Black self-determination, a warrior against Jewish paternalism and control of Black people and a sledge hammer against the wall of White supremacy and neo-colonialism. None of that work would make him the favorite of a system or wicked people whose demonic rule he is working to destroy.

But Mr. Ellison knows better. Years ago sitting in my Chicago office here at The Final Call, when I was managing editor, there was no question about Min. Farrakhan and who he was. There was no question when Mr. Ellison, aka Keith X Ellison, aka Keith Ellison-Muhammad, came to Chicago for an urban peace summit in October 1993 that featured Min. Farrakhan, or a vital summit in Kansas City that included Min. Farrakhan as the major speaker and one who helped legitimize the anti-violence movement in April 1993.

The problem comes from a simple place: “All of you that want national and state prominence: Sometimes I am the ‘litmus test’ to see if White folk can do anything good for you. And some of you are so weak and so cowardly, that your desires mean more than the integrity of your being. But every time I forgave my brothers, and kept moving forward,” observed Min. Farrakhan in a message delivered Oct. 30.

The Minister’s forgiveness and willingness to suffer insults apparently has led some to think that there is no end to his patience and smearing him is acceptable— just come back and apologize in the dark later. No. This man’s life’s work, his status as a vibrant elder and indispensable leader in our community cannot and must not allow that. Mr. Ellison and those who would misuse the Minister’s name for their personal advancement must be confronted and their hypocrisy and cowardice must be condemned. How can Rep. Ellison speak of justice for the poor, a just U.S. foreign policy, social change that improves the lives of people and respect for all and denigrate a man who has worked to achieve those goals for longer than the congressman has been alive?

Shame on you Mr. Ellison for your pandering and shame on us if we don’t call you out for it.

According to their official website, The Nation of Islam (NOI) has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the people they believe are responsible for the death of Minister Robert Muhammad. Before his mysterious death, he was the local representative of The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and the NOI in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The defendants are trying to have the case dismissed and a hearing will take place on Friday, Dec. 9th at 1:00pm to decide if the case gets thrown out. The NOI is calling on people to pack the Kent County Courthouse located at 180 Ottawa Street, 12th Floor Grand Rapids, MI.

Minister Robert Muhammad was born September 6, 1974. Minister Robert went on to join the Air Force, was honorably discharged, and married his wife, Sister Yreva Muhammad, in January of 2000. As a result of their union, they had 8 beautiful children, 4 boys and 4 girls.

II. Community Activist

In addition to being a devoted family man, Minister Robert was an active member of the community in and around Grand Rapids, Michigan. He served as a minister in the Nation of Islam and maintained a close working relationship with the Christian community through Life Quest Ministries.

III. Untimely Death

September 5, 2014, started like any other day for Minister Robert. He helped to get the children prepared for school, kissed his wife, and headed o to work.

At some point during the day, he and other co-workers went to Muskegon Lake for an “outing”. During the course of the outing, they all got onto a boat and road out onto the lake.

As the “story” goes, Minister Robert began swimming back to shore, got within 5 feet of the boat, and simply went under the water.

Robert Muhammad before he got into the water on Sept. 5, 2014.

Robert Muhammad when he was pulled from the water, dead Sept. 6, 2014.

IV. Questionable Investigation

Muskegon investigators did not interview one co-worker on the day of the incident.

Not one investigator could explain the injuries to Minister Robert’s face.

No photographs or forensic testing was done on the boat

The local office of the justice department found nothing unusual with the investigation.

V. What We Want

We want justice for Minister Robert Muhammad.

We want Sister Yreva Muhammad and her eight children to know the truth of what happened

We want the U.S. Justice Department to open a full and complete inquiry into the questionable investigation of Minister Robert Muhammad’s death

Black Muslims in America have to deal with two struggles: anti-Islam rhetoric and anti-blackness. Inside and outside of the mosque, or masjid, there is racism that shouldn’t be ignored. If you tell a Muslim who isn’t black that there is racism among the ummah, sometimes the response will be “That’s not true! There is no color in Islam!” Colorblindness is never a good thing. There are dangers in a colorblind society. If you claim that you can’t “see color”, you are choosing to ignore racial injustices that people face. You ignore people’s identities and conform them to say that who they are is wrong. Just because Islam is diverse, doesn’t mean you should deny my blackness, or the issues we face while being black. Black Americans in particular have had to deal with white supremacy for centuries. It has not yet disappeared.

By Nzinga Muhammad

Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon him) had to teach the Arab people of his day to not discriminate against the black people who followed him. Sadly, that anti-blackness still lingers in many Muslim communities. You would see sometimes during Jummah, all of the black people all together in a corner, segregated from the rest. You would see disrespectful glares of non-black Muslims towards us, and even hear the repetition of racist speech in Arabic. This is not Islam. But this is an unspoken reality. Actually, its spoken of, but always talked over by the loud recitation of Quranic verses and hadiths discussing diversity. If you can’t identify or listen to Black Muslims, or dismantle any racist behaviors, then your quotes on diversity mean nothing.

One of the reasons why “traditional” or Orthodox Muslims don’t like the Nation of Islam is because of the teachings to empower mainly black people to bring us back from a “dead” state. Black power was manifested in our own grocery stores, newspapers, businesses, schools, etc from the Nation of Islam, who had a very big hand in establishing Islam in America. This has gotten criticism for many years as “un-Islamic.” But understand what black people have gone through and still go through daily in an unholy society. Understand the need for self-love in a community with likened conditions as the Arabs in jahiliyyah, during Prophet Muhammad’s time. No one else would willingly teach black people Islam at first.

There are those Orthodox Muslims who claim our great brother Malcolm X, or Malik El Shabazz, yet didn’t care for him until AFTER he got taught by The Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The Nation of Islam cleaned him up. We did that. He learned “As Salaam Alaikum” and all of his prayers from the Nation of Islam, not Orthodox Muslims. No one else taught us until after the fact, and even still, there was discrimination.

With all due respect, there are some so called “Muslims” who sell the forbidden swine in black communities. There are some so called “Muslims” who mistreat black women, and disrespect black people in general. It happens more often than we think, not even limited to American borders, but the issue is always pushed to the back of our minds. There are a lot of black Muslims who have to find an all-black mosque to pray in, because they haven’t been treated as they should in other mosques. It’s a horrible thing when people who claim to follow Prophet Muhammad hate the same people who look just like Bilal.

There is definitely racism in the mosque. You can’t sweep it under the rug and pretend blackness doesn’t exist to make the issue go away. Islam and religion in general needs to be cleansed so that it can be as pure as it’s supposed to be.

(Nzinga Muhammad is based in Rochester, NY. Follow her on Twitter @QueenNzinga13)

Let’s Talk About Colorblindness and Racism in the Mosque was last modified: October 6th, 2016 by BJ Blog Staff

In the beginning of June, the world experienced the loss of one of its most beloved personalities not just in the area of sports, but in life itself, who most notably demonstrated through his example how to stand for justice in a world that is antithetical to its true ideals and practice. That personality is none other than Muhammad Ali. Many artists in Hip Hop have historically been inspired by his boldness and heroism to stand up, speak to power and refuse to back down. The list includes Nas, Jay Z, Will Smith, EPMD, The Sugar Hill Gang, Kanye West, T.I., Master P, Migos, The Fugees, The Game, Common, The Illegal Broadcasters (Hakim Green and General Steele) and even Drake. However, Muhammad Ali’s roots in Hip Hop are deeper than giving honor by shouting him out in song lyrics. Muhammad Ali was known in his heyday to freestyle rhyme about himself and his opponents while on camera, inspiring many young people who were observing him and would later grab the mic and rock crowds at concerts and emcee battles in similar fashion.

Known as Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. for the first 22 years of his life, it was The Honorable Elijah Muhammad that gave him the powerful name Muhammad Ali after registering in The Nation of Islam and winning The World Heavyweight Boxing title in 1964 (Muhammad meaning “one who is worthy of praise” and Ali meaning “the most high”). Two years later, Ali faced a greater challenge outside the ring than any opponent he ever had to face in the ring. He refused to be drafted into the US military to fight in what he and many in the world viewed as an unjust and immoral war in Vietnam. Because he did so, he was stripped of his title and put on house arrest. Supported by The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and The Nation of Islam, Ali appealed his case of conscientiously objecting to participating in the war all the way to the highest court in the land, The Supreme Court. His conviction was overturned by The Supreme Court in 1971. In accurate historical context, it was The Teachings of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad that gave him the courage to stand up for what was just and what was right and to fear nothing but Allah (God) Himself. However, at Muhammad Ali’s memorial service on Friday, June 10th in Louisville, Kentucky, Ali’s wife Lonnie said that it was “Al Islam, true Islam” that inspired him to stand for justice. Not only this, but none of the speakers, with the exception of Bryant Gumbel, made any reference to Muhammad Ali’s first teacher in Islam, The Honorable Elijah Muhammad (Gumbel’s reference was limited to seeing and meeting Ali while visiting the home of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad in the same neighborhood that he lived).

In my own personal analysis, as a follower of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad through his best student The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, I will argue that Lonnie Ali’s “Al Islam” comment can easily be interpreted as a very disrespectful verbal “shot” against The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, his family and The Nation of Islam, who were present at the memorial service. In his lecture The Life and Times of Muhammad Ali on Sunday, June 12th, The

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Muhammad Ali

Minister said that they were surrounded by police and closely monitored as if they were going to attack someone. While I can very easily defend the point that the followers of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad do in fact practice “True Islam,” Lonnie Ali’s statement and the treatment of The Minister, his family and The Nation of Islam at the memorial service speaks to a larger agenda in place. According to The Nation of Islam Research Group, referencing a New York Times article, Muhammad Ali’s funeral was “produced” by SFX Entertainment, Inc., headed by Jewish businessman Robert F. X. Sillerman, which owns eighty percent of the rights to Muhammad Ali’s name, image and likeness resulting from a $50 million business deal set up in 2006.

Just as the enemy has sanitized Malcolm X, he has sanitized Muhammad Ali and has worked to erase the history of how he came into consciousness (Knowledge of Self). Ex-President Bill Clinton emphasized at the memorial service that the “most important part” of Muhammad Ali’s life was the second half, in which he battled Parkinson’s Disease; totally disregarding and intentionally leaving out that the one who taught him how to build his faith in order to overcome trials externally as well as internally was in fact The Honorable Elijah Muhammad. As The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has pointed out, the acts described above were and are geared towards keeping the masses of the people from The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and today The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, two leaders that have taught their people to truly love themselves and become self-reliant and independent.

Muhammad Ali and The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan

Yet and still, The Minister highlighted in his lecture how a great deal of the distancing also came from Muhammad Ali himself. When The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan was rebuilding The Nation of Islam in the late 1970s (falling after the departure of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad) Ali turned down to help The Minister, indicating in few words that it would tarnish the success that he had achieved as a boxer, a career that The Honorable Elijah Muhammad wanted him to let go of years prior. A few years later, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease popularly argued for receiving too many blows to the head while boxing. Although, many others have alluded to his condition also resulting from being ill and overly medicated while experiencing a thyroid problem prior to a boxing match.

What lessons can the Hip Hop Nation learn from Muhammad Ali’s life and trails? Firstly, just as there has been a working to distance Muhammad Ali from the foundational roots of his birth into consciousness, the enemy in the form of the commercial music and entertainment industries, the fashion industry, the prison industry, the education industry and their investors have worked for over three decades to divorce Hip Hop from its foundational consciousness that from very its very inception worked to end violence in our communities and have the youth come into the knowledge of their True Divine Selves. Because of the disattachment that has been fostered, which we have had a great part to do with in our own pursuit of fortune and fame, our communities continue to suffer from high rates of violence, homicide, incarceration, poverty and ailments resulting from the foods, liquor and toxic products that we regularly consume. In order for the self-destructive path to have a chance to being curtailed, we, the elders and those of us who fastly approaching eldership in

Muhammad Ali

our Universal Culture must increase our efforts to first improve the quality of our own lives through spirituality, diet and overall better and healthier life choices and work to provide guidance to the youth. We must also work to atone with others we have “beefed” with and hurt in our lives in order to demonstrate cross-generationally that there is a better way for our communities.

We should also become actively involved in conflict resolution initiatives wherever we can be a part of them. In our guidance to the younger generations, we should not take a judgmental position in the way and manner in which they convey a conscientious message. Financially supporting one another through business initiatives is a crucial part in this process. We must set up alternative institutions that serve as rewarding outlets that put our Gifts and Talents to good use; demonstrating that financial success does not have come through “signing our lives away.”

Every vessel is Divinely Chosen to perform a task and the way and manner through which the message is conveyed serves as a part to bring about peace and prosperity among us in every way imaginable; closer and closer in our fulfillment of the true embodiment of a refined Hip Hop culture and movement; a vision closer and closer to the way that our Beloved Brother Muhammad Ali himself saw as being our duty to one another. Ali himself put it beautifully, “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”

Until next time, Peace!

Tony Muhammad has been teaching Social Studies and Humanities in Miami-Dade County Schools for over 17 years. Tony is most noted for his work as publisher of Urban America Newspaper (2003 – 2007) and co-organizer of the Organic Hip Hop Conference (2004 – 2009). He currently serves as a student assistant minister to Student Minister Patrick Muhammad at Muhammad Mosque #29 in Miami, Florida.

In a time when many Americans are caught up in the euphoria of a seemingly post-racial America, a crowd of Black and White protesters squared off in words during a rally in Paris, Texas on July 21 over the dragging death of Brandon McClelland.

The demonstration headed by members of the New Black Panther Party, the Nation of Islam, and local Paris activists was countered by Nazi flag waving White skinheads and reportedly a few KKK members sprinkled amongst the crowd but not in their white sheet attire.

The KKK members did not live up to the pre-media hype that had law enforcement on high alert.

The attempt by Lamar County officials to establish “protest zones” was thwarted when each opposing side decided to meet head on in the dividing streets. The heated demonstration drew the likes of a surrounding helicopter, sheriffs, and state police in full riot gear.

The Blacks, numbering nearly 200, called for a “street trial” being that this was originally the date set for the trial of formerly accused Shannon Finley, who was released along with Charles Crostley last month. The two White males were initially charged with dragging McClelland over 70 feet under a pickup truck down a Lamar County road leaving several of his body parts dismembered. But special prosecutor Toby Shook dismissed the charges.

Both sides screamed “Black Power” and “White Power” back and forth. No punches were exchanged and one member of the skinheads was arrested for reported disorderly conduct.

“I am happy to see people still coming out to support”, said Jacqueline McClelland, mother of Brandon. “I am going to continue to fight this until the end.”

Before tension flared, Black protesters heard words from members of the McClelland family, residents who shared other cases of injustice, a Paris preacher, Krystal Muhammad, Brenda Cherry, Jimmy Blackwell, and Deric Muhammad. Also in attendance was Hashim Nzinga.

(Look for more coverage of this rally in an upcoming edition of The Final Call Newspaper.)

(Sheriffs stand in between Black and White protesters as they shout at one another)

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